


Detention in the Forbidden Forest But Make it Shiratorizawa

by HeadEmptyJustAnime



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Boggarts, Centaurs, Detention, Even at Hogwarts Ushiwaka still manages to harass Oikawa, Gen, Hogwarts Forbidden Forest, Humor, I don't know why either, Most of this was written late at night, No beta we die like the sleep deprived weebs we are, Rated T because Tendou and Semi have a potty mouth, Reon and Yamagata are centaurs, Semi and Shirabu argue the whole time, Shirabu is a salty boi, Silently pushing the Tensemi best friends agenda, Taichi doesn't want to be here, Tendou is a little shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:26:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28817778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeadEmptyJustAnime/pseuds/HeadEmptyJustAnime
Summary: Six students stood at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, their robes rustling in the slight breeze. The trees loomed, dark and foreboding, and the occasional mournful howl could be heard from inside the woods. The only light came from the half moon hanging in the sky and the tips of their lit wands.“Well, well well,” said Tendou, grinning manically. “What an interesting group we have tonight!”“Shut up, Tendou,” grumbled Semi. “Nobody wants to be here.”
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	Detention in the Forbidden Forest But Make it Shiratorizawa

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Thanks for trying this fic out! So you know that one scene in Harry Potter where they do detention in the Forbidden Forest? I basically thought, but what if it was Shiratorizawa? And that's how this fic was born! I hope you enjoy!

Six students stood at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, their robes rustling in the slight breeze. The trees loomed, dark and foreboding, and the occasional mournful howl could be heard from inside the woods. The only light came from the half moon hanging in the sky and the tips of their lit wands.

“Well, well well,” said Tendou, grinning manically. “What an interesting group we have tonight!”

“Shut up, Tendou,” grumbled Semi. “Nobody wants to be here.”

“You got that right,” muttered Kawanishi.

Goshiki was shivering. “W-why is it so c-cold?” He stuttered out through chattering teeth.

Shirabu scoffed. “It’s not even that cold. You’re just a baby.”

“Shirabu,” scolded Semi, “Don’t be mean.”

“What are you, my mom?” Shirabu muttered under his breath.

“What was that you little brat?!”

“Now, now, settle down!” said Tendou. “How about we share how we landed ourselves in detention this lovely evening? It will be an excellent bonding experience!”

“I do not see the point of that,” said Ushiwaka in his deep baritone.

“Aww, don’t be such a Debby Downer!”

“You just want to know what everyone did and make fun of them for it,” said Semi flatly.

“You know me so well, Semisemi!” said Tendou, grinning.

“You really are a piece of trash, Tendou,” Semi said, rolling his eyes.

“No spoilers, please! Now Kenjirou, you go first! Tell us why you’re here!” Tendou said, spinning around to point at Shirabu.

Shirabu scowled, burying his hands into his robes. “Apparently, I was being rude.”

“He called Professor Mizoguchi an annoying bastard,” Kawanishi translated.

“I said it quietly. It’s not my fault he overheard.”

Tendou cackled. “Nice kill, Kenjirou!”

Semi frowned. “You know, you should really show more respect to your professors,” he snapped.

“Yeah, because you’re always respectful,” Shirabu shot right back.

“More respectful than you!”

“Oh really, Semi _-san_?”

“Why do you two always argue so much?” asked Ushiwaka bluntly.

Tendou laughed, resting his elbow on Ushiwaka’s shoulder. Ushiwaka didn’t even blink at the sudden contact. “It’s their way of showing affection,” said Tendou, smirking.

“That’s not true,” said Semi and Shirabu at the same time. They glared at each other, and Tendou’s smirk only grew wider.

“Well, this is very entertaining,” drawled Kawanishi, “But does anyone know exactly what it is we’re doing for detention?”

Tendou shrugged. “Professor Takeda didn’t say much. Just that we’ll be doing it with Professor Ukai in the Forbidden Forest.”

“I bet we’ll be fighting werewolves!” exclaimed Goshiki, pumping his fist in the air.

Shirabu threw him a withering stare. “Just how stupid can you get?” he muttered.

“I do not think we will be fighting werewolves, Goshiki. That would be a violation of student safety,” said Ushiwaka. Goshiki deflated in embarrassment.

“Hey! We’re getting away from the question at hand!” said Tendou, leaning away from his resting spot on Ushiwaka’s shoulder. “What did you guys do to earn yourselves detention?”

“I overslept and missed Charms,” said Kawanishi, his face expressionless.

“Your roommates didn’t wake you up?” asked Semi.

“Well, Kenjirou here could’ve woken me up, but he didn’t,” said Kawanishi, turning to glare slightly at his fellow Ravenclaw.

Shirabu raised his hands defensively. “It’s not my fault, I got up early and went to the library.”

“Like a nerd,” muttered Semi, despite himself.

“Maybe it would do you some good to spend time in the library, Semi- _san_ ,” said Shirabu, salty as ever.

“Ooh, damn!” Tendou hyena laughed.

Semi bristled. “You say that like your grades aren’t just as bad as mine, Tendou!”

“Oh yeah. Aren’t you two here because of something that happened in Potions?” asked Goshiki, tilting his head to the side.

Semi and Tendou grimaced, recalling the incident during Potions last week. The two of them, a disastrous pair, had somehow managed to light their Shrinking Potion on fire. The Potions lab had nearly burned down, and Professor Washijou had yelled at them for almost half an hour. Needless to say, that was the reason they were in detention.

“Uhh, yeah.” Tendou rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “We… had some trouble with fire. Pro tip! Do not add boomslang skin to a Shrinking Potion!”

“Who even does that?” mumbled Shirabu.

“Well, Semisemi was the one who confused it for a stoat’s heart!” said Tendou brightly.

Shirabu stared at Semi, unimpressed. “Like I said, the library might be of some help to you.”

Semi clenched his fists and took a step towards Shirabu. “And getting a decent personality might help you!” he growled.

“Well, they’re at it again,” said Kawanishi to Tendou, bored as ever.

“It’s so amusing!” agreed Tendou cheerfully.

Suddenly, there was an ear-splitting howl from deep inside the Forbidden Forest. Semi and Shirabu broke off mid argument. The previously loud atmosphere of the group fizzled out, leaving behind apprehension.

“Shouldn’t Professor Ukai be here by now? We’ve been standing here for ten minutes…” Semi trailed off.

Goshiki’s eyes were wide with terror. “That howl sounded like it came from a dangerous animal,” he whimpered.

The group glanced around, some of them shuffling uncertainly.

And then Tendou laughed, instantly restoring the carefree atmosphere from before. “Don’t you worry, Tsutomu! I won’t let anything harm you!”

“Thanks, Tendou,” said Goshiki bashfully.

“Well of course! Say, Tsutomu, how did you get detention?” asked Tendou.

Goshiki turned bright red, mumbling under his breath.

“Sorry, I couldn’t hear you, Goshiki,” said Ushiwaka, oblivious as ever.

“Um… well I sort of transformed Professor Irihata into a frog,” admitted Goshiki. “It was an accident!”

Tendou cracked up, leaning on Semi for support. Semi shoved him away. Straightening, Tendou wiped tears from his eyes and wheezed, “I would have paid to see that!”

Shirabu, once again, looked very unimpressed. “Imagine how dumb you have to be to do that,” he muttered.

“Hey! I can hear you, you know!” shouted Goshiki indignantly.

Shirabu leveled him with a stare. “I meant for you to hear it. If I hadn’t wanted you to hear it, you wouldn’t have.” Goshiki scowled.

“Tell me, how long was Professor Irihata stuck as a frog?” inquired Tendou, still snickering.

“Well, it wasn’t that long,” said Goshiki, “That smart girl Yachi was able to reverse it pretty quick.”

“That’s unfortunate. It would have been hilarious for him to get stuck as a frog forever.” Tendou sighed. “But oh well.”

“You have a twisted sense of humor,” Semi informed him.

“Oh believe me, I know! I suppose that leaves one more person,” Tendou turned to Ushiwaka and grinned. “So, Mr. Miracle Boy, how did you land yourself here tonight? I’ve been asking you about it all week, but you keep avoiding the question!”

“I got into a fight with Oikawa Tooru,” said Ushiwaka, not a hint of emotion in his voice.

It hadn’t really been a fight. No, fight definitely wasn’t the right word. It could be better described as one extremely pissed off guy yelling at the human embodiment of a brick wall. Both of them had ended up in trouble. But Oikawa, the sly Slytherin he was, had managed to worm his way out of a detention. Maybe it had something to do with the threatening, “Wait until my father hears about this!” Nobody wanted to catch the wrath of Tooru Oikawa’s father.

Everyone gaped at Ushiwaka. “Uhh… say what?” asked Tendou, a peculiar expression on his face that was honestly beyond description.

Ushiwaka shrugged. “Oikawa and I had a disagreement.”

“A _disagreement_ is a lot different than a fight,” Semi muttered.

Tendou cackled. “Oh boy. I know what this was about. You tried to get him to join the dueling club again, didn’t you?”

Ushiwaka nodded in confirmation. “Yes. His skills would be a valuable asset to my dueling team. But for some reason, every time I bring it up, he yells at me.”

“I wonder why?” Shirabu mumbled sarcastically.

Semi whirled around, ready to snap at him once again, but a voice interrupted before he could start.

“Well well well. If it isn’t our crop of troublemakers for the night.” Keishin Ukai, the Ground Keeper, stood before them, a dim lantern hanging from one of his hands. He looked tired.

Tendou brightened. “Oh! Professor Ukai!”

“Just call me Ukai,” he grumbled. He squinted at them and said, “Well, let’s get this over with. My bed is calling me.” Ukai proceeded to explain what their punishment was. “You two,” he said, gesturing to Semi and Tendou, “will be collecting potion ingredients for Professor Washijou, since you almost burnt down his lab.”

“Yay, Semisemi!” Tendou cheered. “We get to work together!”

Semi groaned. “Do I have to be with him? Literally anyone else would be better. Well, not Shirabu.” Shirabu glowered at him, and Tendou held his hand against his heart, mock offended.

“Yes, you have to be with him,” said Ukai. He turned to Shirabu and Ushiwaka. “You two will be investigating an area of the forest where we suspect boggarts are living. I trust you both know how to deal with boggarts?” Ushiwaka and Shirabu nodded in confirmation. “Good. And finally,” he trained his eyes on Kawanishi and Goshiki, “You two will be coming with me.”

***

“What the hell do Canary Flowers even look like?” grumbled Semi, kicking a stone down the narrow path in front of him.

“Well, they’re yellow,” supplied Tendou helpfully, swinging his arms and trailing slightly behind Semi.

“Yeah, I was able to gather that from the description Ukai gave us,” Semi snapped.

“I figure anything yellow would definitely stand out in this gloomy place, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find them,” Tendou reasoned.

It was true; the skeletal trees around them were all varying shades of the same dull grey. Any splash of color would be quite visible.

“And what are Canary Flowers even used for?” Semi continued complaining.

“Maybe you should take Kenjirou’s advice and go to the library,” quipped Tendou, smirking.

The glare that Semi sent his way would have killed a lesser man. “If anyone needs to go to the library, it’s you,” he muttered.

Tendou pretended to gasp. “You wound me, Semisemi! Are you implying that I, Tendou Satori, am stupid?!”

Semi rolled his eyes but laughed nonetheless. A gale of wind whistled through the forest, causing Semi to pull his Gryffindor robes tighter around himself, shivering. “Let’s just find these shitty flowers so we can go to sleep,” he groused.

Tendou, seemingly immune to the cold, laughed. “Sleep is for the weak.”

Semi scowled at him. “You really shouldn’t stay up as late as you do. It’s not healthy.”

“You’re such a mom friend,” Tendou snickered, pulling up beside Semi on the path.

“No, I’m not,” Semi complained. “Oh wait, are those the flowers we’re looking for?” Tendou followed Semi’s gaze to a cluster of flamboyant yellow flowers on the side of the trail.

“I would assume so,” said Tendou brightly. “I mean, how many flowers this shade of yellow can there be in one forest?”

Semi crouched down, pulling the flowers out of the ground and passing them up for Tendou to hold. When all of the flowers had been picked, Semi stood up, brushing away the dirt that had gotten on his hands. “Well, I think we have enough here. These flowers are all Ukai said we had to get, so I think we can head back now.”

“Hooray!” cheered Tendou before ungraciously shoving the bundle of flowers into Semi’s arms.

“Why do I have to carry them?” Semi griped.

“Because you’re better at carrying flowers than I am,” said Tendou brightly.

“What does that even… you know what? Never mind,” Semi grumbled. The pair started back down the path, retracing their steps.

“Do you think Professor Washijo will like us better when he gets these flowers?” Tendou wondered aloud.

Semi snorted. “Not a chance. He’s hated us since first year. The Shrinking Potion fiasco just made him hate us even more.”

Tendou laughed. “You’re probably right about that.”

Suddenly, Semi stopped walking. Tendou glanced back at him, one eyebrow raised. “Everything okay, Semisemi?”

Semi frowned. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” asked Tendou.

“A sort of clicking noise.” The two of them fell silent, listening.

_Click click. Click click. Click click._

“What is that?” whispered Tendou, chills running down his spine. “Semi?” Tendou realized that Semi wasn’t beside him anymore. He caught a glimpse of Semi standing a few feet away, staring into the darkness in abject horror. The clicking was getting louder, and Tendou could hear the rustling of something large moving through the trees. “Semi,” he hissed, “Do you see what it is?”

Semi appeared to be frozen in place. A beat later, something was stepping out from the trees onto the trail, and Tendou finally saw what Semi was looking at. The single largest spider either of them had ever seen towered before Tendou and Semi.

***

Shirabu stared up ahead at the hulking form that was Ushiwaka. Don’t get him wrong, he had a lot of respect for the guy, but he couldn’t hold a conversation to save his life. Not that Shirabu himself could really talk when it came to social skills.

Awkwardness hung in the air, or maybe Shirabu was the only sensing it, seeing as Ushiwaka didn’t seemed fazed at all. _Ugh, I wish Professor Ukai had paired me with Taichi_ , Shirabu groused to himself. Of the five other people in detention with him, Taichi was the only tolerable one. Goshiki and Tendou got under his skin and Semi… Semi was worse than both of them combined. Whereas with Ushiwaka, it wasn’t that he was annoying; rather, Shirabu just had no idea how to talk to him.

“So…” Shirabu tried, “We’re looking for boggarts, right?”

Ushiwaka glanced back at him. “Yes, that is correct. Ukai told us to search for boggarts in this part of the forest.”

“Right,” said Shirabu, gritting his teeth. _This_. _This_ was why he didn’t know how to talk to Ushiwaka.

They continued down the twisty trail, the tips of their wands lit, looking for boggarts. The forest around them was silent, however, and there was no noise besides the sound of their own footsteps. If Shirabu was being honest, it was a bit eerie.

Twenty minutes passed, and nothing had changed. No boggarts in sight, or anything else for that matter. “Did Ukai give us the wrong part of the forest?” Shirabu wondered, breaking the silence between them for the first time in a while.

“Possibly,” said Ushiwaka. “But I think we should just continue searching. Maybe the boggarts are hiding.”

“Okay,” muttered Shirabu. This was such a huge waste of his time. He shouldn’t even really be in detention. It wasn’t his fault that Professor Mizoguchi had it out for him.

And so their search carried on. Every stretch, every turn, it all remained the same. Each wiry tree blended into the monotone backdrop. Shirabu prided himself on his sense of direction, but even he was starting to feel disoriented. If Ushiwaka was concerned, he didn’t show it on his face. As they walked deeper and deeper into the forest, Shirabu only grew more annoyed. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore.

“I think we should go back,” Shirabu said abruptly. “There’s clearly nothing here.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I were you,” came a voice from the darkness.

***

“So,” said Kawanishi through a stifled yawn, “Who exactly are we looking for?”

Ukai hadn’t told him and Goshiki much, only that he was holding a meeting with two beings who lived in the forest. He had instructed them to remain quiet and let him do the talking.

“Yeah!” Goshiki piped up. “I wanna know!”

Ukai looked back at them over his shoulder. “You’ll find out soon,” he said vaguely.

Kawanishi sighed. _Real helpful, Ukai_ , he deadpanned. It wasn’t that he was curious about who they were meeting; no, he didn’t hold any illusions of actually caring. It was rather that he wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible so he could go to sleep. Sleeping was his favorite part of the day, and he didn’t want to miss out on any of it.

“Can you at least tell us where we’re going?” asked Goshiki, turning his puppy eyes on Ukai. Those eyes worked magic, proven by how Ukai almost instantly softened. The only people they didn’t work on were Ushiwaka and Shirabu.

“Fine, I can tell you that,” relented Ukai. “We’re going to the Circle of Seven Stones.”

“Yeah, I have no idea what that is,” muttered Kawanishi.

Ukai chuckled. “I didn’t expect you to.”

There was shuffling in the bushes near them, and Goshiki yelped, jumping back several feet. A thin squirrel scuttled out, crossed the path, and disappeared into the gloom. Goshiki rubbed the back of his neck, beet red from embarrassment. _If I were Kenjirou, I would be teasing Goshiki so much right now_ , thought Kawanishi fondly.

“Just a squirrel, kid,” said Ukai. Kawanishi snickered a bit.

They continued walking, silent apart from the occasional pointless conversation. At one point, Ukai stopped. “Pick those,” he ordered Goshiki, gesturing to a patch of deep golden flowers.

Goshiki frowned. “Why?” he questioned.

“They’re Canary Flowers,” said Ukai.

“Aren’t those the ones Semi and Tendou are supposed to be getting?” asked Kawanishi.

“Yes, but I don’t trust those two to find the right ones. So we might as well grab these, just to be safe. Believe it or not, I don’t want Washijou pissed at me,” said Ukai.

Goshiki bent down to extract the flowers from the ground. When every flower had been gathered, they resumed walking. The rest of their stroll was uneventful. Kawanishi spent the entire time day dreaming, or night dreaming he supposed it was, about the warm bed that was waiting for him when he got back to his dorm room.

Eventually, they came to a small clearing deep in the forest. “The Circle of Seven Stones,” Ukai announced.

As the name suggested, there were seven rocks forming a circle. They were all different; some pale and smooth, others dark and jagged. Moonlight peeked through the branches high above them, providing a small amount of light. The place had a peculiar feel to it; not quite foreboding but not quite welcoming either. It felt sacred, Kawanishi decided.

“So, what now?” asked Goshiki.

“Now we wait,” said Ukai.

***

“Holy shit,” said Tendou, backing away. “I do not want to fuck with that thing.”

The creature was gargantuan, there was no other way to put it. It’s eight grotesque yellow eyes glowed in the darkness. Thick, wiry hair covered it’s entire body. Frankly, it was ugly as hell, but that wasn’t Tendou’s main concern when the thing was staring at him like it’d found it’s next meal.

“Semi,” Tendou whispered. “We should run. Like, now!”

However, Semi still wasn’t moving. His eyes were wide in what could only be described as pure terror. Tendou itched to run, but he couldn’t leave Semi behind. Meanwhile, the spider just kept edging closer.

“Semi,” he said, louder. “Semisemi! Eita!”

Finally, Semi responded. He backed away, carefully, slowly, but-snap! A branch crunched under his foot. Semi froze as the clicking from the spider became deafening. It scampered towards Semi, moving far too fast. Semi threw the flowers he was holding at the spider, but this only served to make it even angrier.

“No!” Tendou shouted. He sprinted forward, stepping in front of Semi and raising his wand. “ _Stupefy_!” The spell bounced harmlessly off the creature’s back. The spider bore down, raising one of it’s thick appendages to crush both of them. But as Tendou stared into it’s eyes, something strange happened. With a pop, the spider disappeared, leaving in it’s place a wrinkly, hunched old man. Professor Washijou.

“The hell?” mumbled Semi.

Tendou regarded his teacher in bafflement. _How is he here? And where did that spider go? Oh wait_ … Realization dawned upon him. “I think we found one of the boggarts Wakatoshi and Kenjirou are looking for.”

“Ohhh,” said Semi. “Well, that makes a lot more sense.”

Tendou stepped forward. “ _Riddikulus_ ,” he spoke clearly. With another pop, the boggart transformed into a goat. Tendou cackled.

“Why a goat?” Semi asked in confusion.

“They’re hilarious,” replied Tendou.

“If you say so,” said Semi dubiously.

“Hey! You’re not one to talk,” exclaimed Tendou. “You literally threw flowers at something that was about to kill you!”

“I was panicking, alright?” Semi said defensively.

“So, spiders, huh?” Tendou smirked. “I never thought the great Semisemi would be scared of something as trivial as that.”

Semi glared at him. “They just creep me out, okay?”

Tendou laughed. “Well, now I know how to get you to do whatever I want. I’ll just threaten you with spiders!”

“Don’t you dare, you asshole,” said Semi, scowling. “And you don’t really have a right to make fun of me when your worst fear is Professor fucking Washijou!”

Tendou shuddered. “He is truly a terrifying man.”

“Well,” Semi admitted, “I can’t exactly disagree with that.”

The goat bleated, causing Tendou to crack up. “You can’t tell me that goats aren’t hilarious,” he wheezed between laughs.

“Whatever, Tendou.” Semi rolled his eyes but there was fondness in his expression. “We should start walking back.”

Tendou bent over to pick up the bright yellow flowers that were scattered across the forest floor. “I’ll hold them this time,” said Tendou cheerfully. “Since I’m better at carrying flowers than you are.”

“But you just said a little bit ago that I’m better at carrying them!” Semi argued, speed walking to catch up with Tendou.

The two of them filled the hollow forest with their bickering, and, for a moment, the place seemed almost lively. The goat was left behind, bleating pitifully.

***

Shirabu very nearly jumped out of his skin. But Ushiwaka, the stoic person he was, didn’t even blink. “Hello?” he called out, a bit warily.

“Heyo!” greeted a cheerful voice. Shirabu couldn’t see who it belonged to.

“Yamagata, I told you not to talk to the humans,” came an exasperated voice.

“I’m sorry! It’s just that I’ve seen them in my visions!” The first person, apparently Yamagata, spoke again.

“Who are you?” asked Shirabu distrustfully.

There was the clopping of… hooves? and then a person stepped out from behind a tree. Well, he wasn’t exactly a person. From the waist up, he was a toned guy with spiky brown hair and thick eyebrows. But his bottom half…

“You’re a horse?” Shirabu blurted before he could stop himself.

Yamagata glared at him, offended. “The politically correct term is centaur,” he sniffed.

“Sorry,” muttered Shirabu.

Another person stepped out from behind the tree and, alas, he was also a centaur. He had a large build, though his eyes were kind. “I am so sorry about him,” he said, gesturing to Yamagata.

Yamagata scowled. “You don’t have to apologize for me, Reon,” he complained. Reon stared at him, unimpressed. “What?!”

“Was there anything you wanted with us? Or can we leave?” Ushiwaka interrupted bluntly.

“No no, don’t leave!” exclaimed Yamagata. “I’ve got to tell you about my visions!”

Reon frowned. “You can’t tell them about your visions, Yamagata. That’s against the rules.”

Yamagata waved a hand in the air impatiently. “The rules can be bent! These are my craziest visions yet! You have no idea how exciting it is to meet some of the people who are in them!”

“What sort of visions?” asked Shirabu, curious despite himself.

“Visions from a parallel universe,” said Yamagata, widening his eyes for effect.

“Yamagata,” Reon reprimanded, “You can’t tell them. And besides, we have somewhere to be, in case you forgot.”

“Oh, right!” Yamagata said. “We have to meet that guy, what’s his name…? Ukie? Uko?”

“Are you perhaps talking about Ukai?” inquired Ushiwaka.

“Oh, that’s his name!” said Yamagata brightly. “Do you know him?”

“Yes. He is our professor. We are here doing detention with him,” said Ushiwaka.

Reon glanced around. “Well, I don’t see him anywhere.”

“He sent us here to search for boggarts. He’s with two other students going to meet you,” Shirabu hastily explained.

Yamagata laughed. “Well, I can guarantee you that there are no boggarts in this part of the forest.”

“So Ukai did give us the wrong area,” muttered Shirabu.

“We should really be going, Yamagata,” Reon urged. “We’re going to be late to meet with Ukai.”

Yamagata sighed. “Does that actually matter, though? It’s not like we’re talking about anything that important with him.”

Reon groaned in exasperation. “You are so irresponsible.”

“I know! But I don’t really care that much,” said Yamagata. “Now, can I tell them at least a little bit about my visions? Please? We can be right on our way after I do!”

“No,” said Reon firmly.

“Pretty please?” Yamagata begged. He turned to Shirabu and Ushiwaka desperately. “Don’t you two want to know?”

Ushiwaka shrugged, indifferent. Shirabu glanced at him, then back to the centaurs. “I’m a little bit intrigued,” he admitted.

“See!” Yamagata yelped. “He’s burning to know!”

“That’s not really what I said, but whatever,” Shirabu muttered.

Reon sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Fine,” he relented, “You can tell them a little bit. But only a little bit, mind you!”

Yamagata clapped his hands, excited. “Okay! So this parallel universe is kinda strange. The four of us here, along with some other people, are on a team together, playing a Muggle sport!”

“Why would we be playing a Muggle sport?” questioned Ushiwaka.

“Well you see,” Yamagata grinned, “Magic doesn’t exist in this universe!”

“Weird,” commented Shirabu. He wasn’t sure if he actually believed any of the things the centaur was sprouting.

“Yes, very weird,” agreed Yamagata. “We are a powerful team! Nobody can defeat us! Until,” he paused dramatically, “We are taken down by a bunch of pesky crows!”

“We are taken down by… crows? Like the bird?” asked Ushiwaka, confused.

“No no no,” Yamagata hurried to clarify. “Not actual crows. Another team. They are just called crows.”

“Huh,” said Shirabu, a bit mystified. This sounded like quite the strange parallel universe. That is, if anything Yamagata was saying was true.

“And you,” Yamagata continued, pointing to Ushiwaka, “Are the strongest member of our team! The magnificent ace!”

“Yamagata,” Reon warned, “You’re telling them too much. And we really need to go now.”

“Ahh well, that’s too bad.” Yamagata sighed. He turned to Ushiwaka and Shirabu, “Unfortunately, I have to end my story here. Maybe we can meet again someday!” He waved goodbye as Reon dragged him away.

A puzzled silence fell between the two of them. “Well,” said Shirabu finally, staring at where Yamagata and Reon had disappeared, “That was… interesting.”

Ushiwaka frowned. “What is an ace?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t really want to know either,” said Shirabu. “We should head back, since apparently there’s no boggarts here.”

Ushiwaka nodded in agreement, and the two of them walked back through the dreary forest, side by side.

***

“Are you sure that you got the right day?” asked Kawanishi, arms folded tightly across his chest, shivering in the frigid air. In the thirty minutes (or maybe it was longer, Kawanishi didn’t have a good internal clock) since they had been standing there, it had only grown colder.

“Yes, I’m quite positive,” said Ukai. “We’ve had this scheduled for over a month. I wouldn’t have gotten the days mixed up.” He checked his watch, the impatience evident on his face.

“Well, whoever we’re meeting doesn’t seem to be here,” Kawanishi pointed out.

Goshiki was sitting on one of the rocks, bored out of his mind and staring intently at an acorn that lay a few feet away. “Maybe they forgot?” he suggested.

Ukai sighed. “That’s very likely. I wouldn’t describe these two as the most reliable. Well, not one of them at least.”

“So, how much longer are we going to stand here freezing our asses off? Or sit, in Goshiki’s case,” Kawanishi asked. He could feel his eyes getting droopier and droopier; and every few minutes he was fighting off a yawn.

“I think we should wait ten minutes,” said Ukai. “If they don’t show up by then, we’ll leave and I’ll reschedule the meeting.”

“Okay, sounds good,” said Goshiki, and Kawanishi nodded in agreement.

They fell silent, Ukai glancing at his watch every few minutes. The only sounds were the occasional hoot from an owl and the rustling of branches moving in the wind. Goshiki absently ran his fingers over the flowers he was still clutching. Kawanishi tapped his toe against the ground. Nobody showed up.

“Well,” said Ukai, breaking the silence, “It’s been ten minutes. We should head back to the edge of the forest to meet the others.”

“Okay,” said Kawanishi, relieved. Sleep was only growing closer and closer.

The three of them left the Circle of Seven Stones, making their way back through the Forbidden Forest.

“Can you tell us now who we were supposed to be meeting?” Goshiki asked Ukai along the way.

“Sure, why not?” said Ukai, sighing. “We were supposed to be meeting two centaurs, to discuss some strange noises we’ve been hearing in the forest. They must have forgotten. Though I was sure one of them would remember, at least. But oh well. I’ll just make a new meeting.”

Five minutes after Ukai, Kawanishi, and Goshiki left the clearing, Yamagata and Reon showed up.

“We must have missed them,” said Reon, frowning. He turned to glare at Yamagata. “This is all your fault.”

“Hey, don’t blame me!”

***

Semi and Tendou were the first ones to arrive back at the edge of the forest.

“Where do you think everyone else is?” Semi asked.

“I don’t know,” said Tendou, shrugging. “But I’m sure they’ll be back soon.”

They didn’t have to wait for long, because after a few minutes, Ushiwaka and Shirabu arrived.

“Hola!” Tendou exclaimed in greeting. “Did you guys have fun? Catch any naughty boggarts?” He smirked, thinking of their own encounter with a boggart.

“No,” Shirabu grumbled, “But we did talk to two very weird centaurs.” He and Semi were already starting to glare at each other.

“Oh?” replied Tendou. “Sounds intriguing! You’ll have to tell me all about it!”

At that moment, Ukai, Kawanishi, and Goshiki stepped out of the dark forest. “Good. Everyone is back,” said Ukai.

Semi furrowed his brow at Goshiki. “Why does he have flowers? Were you guys also collecting Potion ingredients?”

“No,” said Ukai, “We just grabbed them in case you and Tendou couldn’t find the right ones. Which you didn’t,” he added, catching a glimpse of the flowers Tendou was holding. “Those are dandelions, not Canary Flowers.”

“Oops.” Tendou laughed.

“Do I need to mention the library again?” said Shirabu, voice dripping with salt.

“You just _did_ mention it,” Semi growled.

“You two can’t refrain from arguing for even a minute, can you?” said Tendou, snickering. “So are these flowers useful at all? Or should I just throw them away?”

“Throw them away, they can’t be used in Potions,” Ukai instructed, and Tendou complied. Ukai then directed his attention to Shirabu and Ushiwaka. “So, did you two find any boggarts?”

“No, we did not,” said Ushiwaka. “However, we did cross paths with two centaurs.”

Ukai fell silent. “Don’t tell me their names were Reon and Yamagata.”

“That is correct,” said Ushiwaka. “They said that they were holding a meeting with you.”

“They were _supposed_ to,” said Ukai. “We must have just missed them.”

“Well,” said Tendou after a moment, “Semi and I may not have found the right flowers, but we did run into a boggart. Dealt with it fine though… for the most part.”

Realization sunk into the group. “So,” Kawanishi said finally, “None of us managed to do what we were supposed to do, but we accidentally did the things others were supposed to do?”

Ukai rubbed his forehead wearily. “This was a disaster. I hope to never have any of you in detention ever again.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yay, you're still here! Feel free to leave kudos or a comment if you liked this, it would make my day.


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